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It’s a damn shame that the grinding squeal of metal-on-metal of a train coming into the station, thick steam billowing out through the waiting crowd of gunslingers, priests and thieves is imagery so co-opted by generic Americana bands and Morricone-wanna-be’s, because that is the stuff of poets. Guy Clark’s “Desperados Waitin’ On A Train” and Leonard Cohen’s “Ballad of the Absent Mare.” I’m talking about Nick Cave’s “The Proposition” (not any of that Young Gun’s shit). The stuff with the kind of grit that stays under your nails when you die.
This New Jersey native’s first official release "Death of a Widow" (as well as his first set of out of print demos "In Our Embrace") have all of that grit in every crack and crevasse of their runtimes. And not in any sort of pedal-steel parody way, but in the way of withered waltzes, barreling ragtime, and hypnotic piano dirges underpinned by literate narratives that coat each melody like chipped paint on a broken down jalopy. There are some easy comparisons to the aforementioned Cohen, and occasional shades of Dylan and Tom Waits, but that doesn’t really get to the heart of it. Those guys color the prose of everyone who’s written a song in the last 40 years. He’s channeling something much older and creakier than those guys, and still delivering it in a way that connects him with a very short list of modern writers. Elliot is creating a sound without a whole lot of direct lineage, yet it still sounds lived in and familiar, the words streaming by as you try to catch up and parse the meaning like you knew it from a dream.
Backed by Ryan Stokes (drums and accordion), Richard Russano (electric guitar) and Ben Fleisher (bass), Elliot and his Band re-engineer the songs of their records for their live shows into Jerry Lee Lewis piano-wrecking rave-ups, always ready to throw off even the most seasoned listener. They are constantly changing up rhythms, tempos, and time signatures in order to keep their songs vibrant and fresh- ready to take on new audiences on new nights.
As the result of a busy tour schedule and a rapidly growing following, they have quickly broken into the Northeast's music scene, and can often be found in Manhattan's historic Lower East Side, headlining some of the city's most famous venues. With "Death of a Widow," his first offiical release, Elliot and his crew threw their release party at The Mercury Lounge, part of The Bowery Presents (The Bowery Ballroom, Terminal 5), a booking agency which has been noted by the New York Times as being a "pivotal player" in the cutthroat world of concert promotion.
Having performed with the likes of Bernie Worrell (Parliament, Funkadelic), The Gunshy, Horse Feathers, and the Low Anthem (to name a few) within the first year and a half of his debut, Elliot has begun to capture a wide range of audiences. There seems to be an eclectic mix of listener to his music, and not surprisingly so; he often shares bills with acts that are stylistically very different. His approach is very unorthodox - He actually seems to be playing for the people who wouldn’t normally be paying attention.
Upcoming Luke Elliot Shows
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Friday, Sept 30th, 2011
Venue: North Star Bar | 8:00 PM
2639 Poplar St, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, US
*Opening for the Grand Nationals*
